From comfortable get-togethers to productive coffee meetings, there are always opportunities for students to eat and drink outside. And the start of a new semester always creates many, many occasions that require such forms of socializing. As Asian food expands and consolidates its strong presence in America, the popularity of boba is now tantamount to that of any given coffee shop, slipping away from its cultural origins in the process. As they explore Ann Arbor’s vast boba scene, many students find their “favorite boba shops” and “go-to combinations,” inevitably noticing the costs adding up in the process.
For anyone unfamiliar, boba is a sweet milk or fruit tea-based drink that was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s. Also called bubble tea, the drink often features black, chewy tapioca pearls and other toppings such as jelly and pudding. An average cup of milk tea will cost anywhere between $4 to $7 with tax, and each added topping costs 50 cents or more. Thus, in addition to the time invested in seeing someone over boba, the typical cost for a cup of the drink will cost a student at least $5. This is way too expensive.
With the same amount of money used to purchase a typical cup of boba, students could purchase multiple filling sandwiches at fast food chains, three pounds of apples and enough gas to last a 20-minute to 40-minute drive. Restaurants try to keep their costs at about 20%-40% of menu prices. This means that a $5 drink should cost at least $1 to make.
However, the cost of production for boba hovers far below this expected price, as the total per cup comes down to a mere 65 cents after one cent for the straw, three cents for the tea, five cents for the plastic cup and seal, 14 cents for the tapioca pearls and 42 cents for the bubble tea powder. Using the 20% of cost to menu price ratio, boba should cost at least $3.25. Even if one were to consider the higher-than-average labor and rent costs in Ann Arbor, the profit margins remain much more reasonable; the wholesale cost for a basic fried chicken sandwich from Fleetwood Diner hovers around two dollars, and is sold at around $8.
The exorbitant price hike of boba makes those nostalgic for the hey-day of the drink question whether what made it so special exists anymore. The taste of boba hits close to home for many Asian American youth, and was a vital element of many East Asian cultures starting from the 1980s. Boba is not just a sweet drink, but rather a cultural cornerstone for many Asian Americans: Shops serve as a venue for warmth, conversations and unity.
Now, the definition of “boba” has changed. Impacted by contemporary social and health trends, it is not difficult for the students to see the newer, “hipper” shops in Ann Arbor offering organic milk, flavored syrups and loose-leaf teas, with accompanying premium pricing. This evolution of boba seems to be pushing the drink further and further away from its cultural origins of a cheap drink that everyone can afford and enjoy.
What makes this phenomenon all the more concerning? Unlike coffee, boba is a growing industry, meaning that costs are only anticipated to increase even further amid the limited supply and unprecedented surge in demand. Boba in the United States cost merely 89 cents in the 1990s, but witnessed a 500% to 800% price increase in a remarkably short span of time. The global bubble tea market is projected to grow by over $1.5 billion by 2029. As the boba trend continues to gain traction nationwide, the drink will continue to place a strain on young college students’ wallets.
Talking with a friend over a drink should not induce groans of financial concern. Despite boba shops being incredibly easy to locate across campus, resisting the temptation to stop by just twice saves a student enough money for a full meal at any one of the university’s dining halls. This means that when students are socially pressured to chat with a colleague over a drink they cannot afford, and this is repeated enough times, they may have to cut corners in other aspects of their lives in order to stay afloat.
There is no denying that boba is accessible, delicious and even addicting. But whether it is sustainable for both businesses to continue selling drinks at such unreasonable markups, and for students to continue purchasing boba in lieu of foods that can fuel their bodies for longer at better prices, is up for debate.
Indeed, at this rate it is not difficult to envision boba experiencing a slow but steady decline, as we’ve seen with other popular foods like rolled ice cream, coconut water and cake pops. There may even come a time when boba becomes so popular and yet too expensive that H-Mart’s moderately cheaper Instant Boba Tea Packs start flying off the shelves. Under such circumstances, consumers have a choice to make: As the Westernization of Asian cuisines impacts everything from the substance to the price of cultural foods, it is up to each of us to put our money where our mouth is. And as for business entrepreneurs, Ann Arbor urgently needs cheaper boba shops.
So Jin Jung is an Opinion Columnist and can be reached at sojinj@umich.edu.